Should I Create a Resume on My Phone?

I just upgraded my iPhone from a 5S to a 6S Plus. (That's the one with the larger screen, which I love.) As I poked around on my new device, I noticed a Pages icon on my main screen. Oh boy, something new! It's an app for writing documents using the little keyboard or the microphone if you want to dictate your text.

It even has templates for common documents like letters, reports, flyers, and — you guessed it — resumes. But for resume writing, this app is a setup for disaster. Here's why:

Typos. A resume written on a phone (even with the plus-size screen) is way too likely to have typos from typing on the phone's tiny keyword.

Errors. If you opt to use the microphone to dictate your resume content, you're even more likely to have errors because of auto-correct (which is often not correct) and the use of capped letters.

Limited control. You don't have easy control over spacing, indents, and other custom formatting elements you need to highlight items on our resume.

Graphic format. It's a challenge to judge a phone resume format since it's adjusted for the small screen and doesn't always look the same as it will on the employer's computer screen.

Poor proofreading. It's hard to proofread your finished resume because the type is so small you're apt to miss errors in spelling and punctuation.

Writing a Resume on the Go

I understand the urge to write your resume on the go. Sometimes you may need to send one right away — maybe you see a job you want to apply for during your travels — and you're not at your computer to send the resume you have on your hard drive. Or you may be inspired to write your resume when you're away from home, and want to take action right away. In such cases, it would be handy to pull out your phone and create your resume. But writing it from scratch to final version on your phone is simply not a good way to create that perfect resume.

Here are other ways to get the job done, or at least partway done when you're away from your computer:

Phone. Write notes for your resume on your phone and then send those notes to your computer so when you are at a full-size screen and keyboard, you can use those notes to quickly create your resume.

Tablet. Write your resume on your tablet, using an MS Word document (either a blank Word document that you format yourself or a resume template that you download online or that you've already sent from your computer to your tablet).

Public computer. Use a public computer (for example, at a copy shop, hotel, library, or convention center), being careful not to save and leave behind your resume on that computer.

No matter what device you use to create your resume, be sure to proofread it carefully. Then ask someone else to proofread it to be sure you didn't miss any errors.